London has been named the third least affordable city for renters in the UK.

That’s according to the latest rental affordability report from tenant and landlord services provider Canopy.

They analysed data on over 46,000 employed UK renters, to get an accurate view on income versus outgoings, and how this compares by city or town.
Nationwide, their new report reveals that most tenants are spending over a third (36%) of their ‘net’ or ‘take-home’ salary on rent on average, which is at the very limit of what experts believe is affordable.
Enfield in North London was named as the UK’s least affordable area for renters, with the average tenant spending 49.5% of their take-home salary on rental payments.
Romford, Twickenham and Croydon also have high rent to income ratios – all around 47%.

In London specifically, while average income is much higher than in many other cities (at £36k per year after taxes), high property prices mean that tenants in the capital are spending 44.3% of their take-home salary on rent, on average.

The Canopy experts advise that spending around 30% of income on rent is typically around the limit of what tenants can find affordable.

Across the country, a worrying one in five UK tenants (19%) are now spending at least half of their take-home pay on rent, and for one in 20 (4.4%) their rent eats up over 80% of their salary.

In London specifically, this is even higher – more than a quarter (26%) residents are spending over half of their salary on their rent, and one in 13 (7.5%) see 80% of their income go to their landlord.

The average tenant in London spends £1,177 per month on their share of the rent.

Overall, Bournemouth took the top spot in the ‘least affordable’ cities list, with a rent to income ratio of 46.9%.

Brighton took the second-place position, with a rent to income ratio of 46.3%.